Pro-Nouns

Gender-neutral pronouns and neuter pronouns are a minor hobby of some Pro members, whether inventing entire languages or just playing with gender.

A gender-neutral pronoun can be applied to any singular person, and means "he/she/the person/whatever". So it can be applied equally well to a male, female, other or unknown without being insulting.

A neuter pronoun refers to someone who refuses gender altogether or wants to be viewed as "somewhere in the middle".

A neuter pronoun may also be used in cultures with sterilisation or surgical desexing procedures, to refer to someone who has undergone one of these procedures. (Important note: if the process was involuntary or done purely for reproductive convenience, the individual may not want to be known by the neuter. In the majority of cases it's considered most polite to follow the individual's preference.)

Who uses them?

For worlds or species with different sexes to the common male/female pair, there will be different rules. (Read their individual pages to learn more.)

Fuzzbuckets of the third physical sex must be referred to using a gender-neutral or neuter pronoun: they don't mind which type. "She" or "he" is just plain wrong. It would be insulting to call an individual "it", and confusing or insulting to call an individual "s/he", since that term implies that 'she' and 'he' are the only two options. (Friends of fuzz admittedly get a lot more worked up about this than fuzz themselves.)

Mutt uses gender-neutral or neuter pronouns to refer to desself, and you're welcome to join in.

Some gender-neutral pronouns

• De, des, den, desself ("Dwic set")
  • First Interworld Common
  • (Invented by Mutt, as far as Mutt knows.)
  • "Someone sentient of whatever gender" (the worlds have three or more sexes between them with different pronoun sets, so these are catch-all terms)
  • "De muttered to desself about the cheek of des friends, who kept pointing and giggling at den. But the last laugh would be dene, oh yes."
• Sie, hir, hirself
  • In general Internet usage
  • "Someone of whatever gender"
  • Disliked by some for resemblance to German sie, meaning "she" or "you (formal version)"
  • "Sie mutters to hirself about the cheek of hir friends, who keep pointing and giggling at hir. But the last laugh will be hirs."
• Zie, zir, zirself
  • In general Internet usage
  • "Someone of whatever gender"
  • Designed to combat German-sounding problem with sie
  • May be pronounced like sie or as "tzee" to emphasise the distinction from German
  • "Zie mutters to zirself about the cheek of zir friends, who keep pointing and giggling at zir. But the last laugh will be zirs." (Mutt isn't sure about the possessive form, never having seen it in use.)
• Ey, eir, em, emself ("Spivak set")
  • Internet usage, seemingly less widespread than sie/hir
  • "Someone of whatever gender, or no gender"
  • Created by taking "they" and removing the TH.
  • "Ey griped to emself about the cheek of eir friends, who kept pointing and giggling at em. But the final triumph would be eirs."
• It, its, it, itself
  • Same as referring to an object. When applied to living things, usually considered rude (exceptions may be a newborn baby for which one does not know the gender, or in some cases, an animal).
  • Are actually the preferred terms for some demons.
  • "It growls to itself about the inanity of its contemporaries, which keep farting and gobbing at it. Revenge will be its."

Some neuter pronouns

No specifically neuter pronouns sighted as yet.

Sankmarray pronouns

• Pirate: pe, pis, pim, pimself
• Ninja: ne, ner, ner, nerself
• Galgothian and others: normal he and she

See also

• Mir, a gender-neutral title